Seasons
by Kibasgirltsumi
Summary: While traveling through Hyrule, Link remembers a time with Zelda, from long ago. A series of one-shots of Link recalling other memories.
1. A Memory of the Snow

A/N- Hello, long time! I hope you're all enjoying the new game as much as I am. It was surely worth the wait.

I have things I'm working on, but for now, here are some oneshots for you to enjoy! As always, comments/criticisms are welcome, as well as requests for later oneshots.

I hope you enjoy!

~Kibs

* * *

Muffled footfalls touched on the silence of the vast snowfields. A lone horse galloped through the drifts, mane tangled with snow. Upon his back a rider hunched low against the wind, poorly dressed for the storm. He hadn't expected a blizzard, but that was his own fault. He'd meant to find a nearby shrine, leaving the stable early when the sky was clear and the horizons wide. The blizzard had risen from the ground up, billowing from the mountains and meeting the sky to overtake the blue with gray, then a pitch white.

He took in the reins just so, and let his mount come to a walk as he grasped for direction. The wind pushed his cloak over his shoulders and he shivered, the sweat on his back catching the cold. Nothing. With a sigh, adjusting the cloak over his mouth, he pushed on.

Then, maybe a flicker of black from the corner of his eye. He turned over his shoulder, and his horse startled. A moblin crashed through the drifts ahead of them, and Link's horse broke into a run, twisting away from the club strike. Link almost fell as they dodge, then steadied himself and reached for his bow.

Another bokoblin, astride its own mount, caught up to them, aiming an arrow. It rushed past his head and vanished into the storm.

A whole mob of them, steering their own horses, surrounded the adventurer. He knocked arrows and squinted through the flurries to take aim- as they came out of the storm like ghosts. Planting his feet in the stirrups, he downed one bokoblin, and its horse spooked and took off. Suddenly, a horse charged in front of them, and a flurry of arrows punctured the air. Link felt one graze and stick in his shield, and as he took aim in retaliation, his horse cried out and buckled. They toppled through the snowpack, and Link's foot caught in the saddle as they crashed into the white. His vision jostled and sound rung loud in his ear as he struggled to right himself, pulling away from his downed steed.

With a shout, he rolled to his knees, and knocked an arrow in time to catch a nearing bokoblin. His numb fingers ached and bled, and he shuffled through his quiver for a certain arrow. As a trio- maybe, hopefully, the last- approached, he lit an arrow and aimed it at their feet. He loosed it, and an explosion rung outward from his foes, melting the snow and scorching Link's face. When he dropped his arm, the carnage was already buried by the blizzard.

He exhaled and kicked his feet out from under himself to stand. At his first step, his leg cramped and he fell again. The shaft of an arrow protruded from his thigh- bleeding slowly through the snowpants. He grasped it below the feathers and hesitated. No. Think.

He released it slowly and took a breath. He needed shelter before that.

Slowly he trudged back to his horse. The silver and white mare was halfway buried, and he dusted off her face to say goodbye. He caught sight of the arrows in her neck guiltily. He'd taken her from her home in the Hyrule fields, so far from that cold mountain, and failed to take care of her.

From the saddlebags he retrieved his rations and weapons, and the half-frozen water flask. Then, with nothing else to be done, he let the storm overtake his steed, and she became a snowy hill as if that was where she'd come from in the first place.

He began walking, counting his footsteps. The mob had to have come from somewhere- their hideaway must be have been close. He moved in a circle, rounding back to their battlefield, and walking each direction, trying not to lose his bearings. He felt blood leaking down his leg, freezing against his skin. His muscles ached and his eyes stung, but eventually caught sight of a stone shelter against the mountainside. He stumbled inside, pressing his back against the walls as he loosened the cloak around his neck. His numb fingers were slow and clumsy, but eventually he was able to start a fire. He slouched against it and caught his breath, warming his fingers over the meager embers. There was no more firewood beyond the remnants in the firepit, so he would have to make it last. And count.

He pulled the gloves off his hands and stretched out his leg beside the light to see. His pant was soaked red, but it still hurt- which was good.

He tugged the arrow free, and it came out in a whole and a shout. He'd set an arrowhead in the flames, and as it glowed red, he took it by the shaft and lined it up with the wound. He rocked his head back, eyes shut, and pressed it to the cut with a flinch of his hand. The pain radiated, was it hot or freezing cold, he couldn't tell. He pulled it away with a haggard shout, and tossed the arrow to the side. He exhaled a humid breath and shut his eyes- exhaust hitting his body like a gust of wind.

The fire was just a single flame holding onto embers by then, and the blizzard outside was now grey instead of white- the sun had gone down. Link wrapped up his leg and bundled against a nook in the stone.

He reached with a cloak to pull someone inside it, and caught himself with a start. The memory echoed as if Zelda had just walked outside into the storm and gone. They'd been caught in weather like that before, over one hundred years ago...

Her face bright pink, snow trapped on her eyelashes like pollen. It wasn't just the cold, but embarrassment as Link offered her the warmth under his cloak.

The fire was dying, and though she acted like the cold wasn't bothering her, hunched over the pulsing red coals with pale hands, Link knew she was freezing.

She caught sight of his gesture, and her cheeks darkened.

"It's not proper," she said impulsively.

Link rolled his eyes.

"What does that mean? You don't think I'm proper?"

He shrugged and shut his eyes, trying not to grin.

"I see your smile, Link!"

He shook his head and buried his lips in his scarf.

The Princess sighed, frustrated. "I suppose you're right. My father doesn't agree in my ways either- it's not fitting for a Princess to be running around the kingdom, digging up relics in a snowstorm…Getting caught in a snowstorm…" She rubbed her hands together. "I have tried. I continue to. But I feel that there is more I can be doing. I'm worried that…It won't be enough. The powers I'm supposed to have..." She sighed, a hot cloud that drifted far.

Link shifted, as if moving around the desire he felt then to share things with her. As it was not proper to hold each other close, it was not proper to confide in one another. Though Zelda had, so many times, and Link felt that he could as well, he refrained.

He had refrained, until that night.

"You never speak to me," Zelda whispered, after a long silence.

Link roused from his drowsiness at her voice.

She pulled her knees close and tucked her hand under them. "Do you not…feel as though you can?"

"It's not proper," he said.

Zelda livened at his voice. "Oh! You have humor after all," she laughed a bit, and Link felt warmer. "I suppose my father did not appoint you as my knight to be my friend, or confidant. If I have overshared, I apologize."

He shook his head. He chewed his lip, and sat up straighter. "Your powers will come," he reassured her. "I'm not quiet because of you." Link's eyes fell on the Master Sword, sheathed beside him. He took it and set it across his legs. "This burden is mine to bear alone."

Zelda watched him, her eyes focused and endearing. "I see. I often feel the same."

He shut his eyes. He knew that, which was why he felt so compelled then to share his own feelings. They were the same, perhaps, and he did not want Zelda to feel so alone.

"We can bear them together," she said slowly, then with a smile. Then, slowly, she walked over to him. He set the Master Sword down again, and opened his cloak up for her. She was freezing, and he gasped when she leaned into him.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" She leaned away, but Link pulled the cloak shut and caught her. He shook his head.

Zelda sat stiffly for a bit longer, then melted against him as their body heat mingled and warmed them up. They drifted off as the day's travels caught up to them.

Link woke, his joints stiff and cold. He shook the frost off his cloak and verified that Zelda was not there beside him. He couldn't remember much more- the moments of clarity came, and went. He could remember her face better than his own, but their time together was more of an emotion than tangible details.

Light pooled through the entrance of the hideout, glaring off still white snow. Link wandered outside and peeked through the glaring sunlight. A calm snowfield, in every direction, dotted with whitecapped trees. Far off he could see a smokestack- the stable. Then a patch of snow shifted, and an azure fox unburied itself from its burrow. It yawned and stretched, and froze when it caught sight of Link. They regarded each other, and the fox eventually trotted away.

Link bound his supplies on his back and began the trek back.


	2. A Memory of the Sun

The wanderer followed the canyon path to a footbridge. The mountains beyond the field there were barren and dry, despite the howling river below. He stepped carefully over the cracking planks and crossed, and a zephyr pulled the mist from the water up in the air.

He'd left the snowfields weeks ago, traversing his way to Hyrule Field as he followed shrines. He'd gotten stronger since waking in the Shrine of Resurrection, and much of his memory had returned. Though there were details and events that he ached to know, he could never deny the urge to return to the castle and face the Calamity. Even if he'd never remembered anything, he would still work his way to the stronghold. Now that he knew why, his resolve was unshakable.

Every now and then, he swore she called out to him. Her soft, aching voice that pleaded for his haste. It burned at him, and kept him awake through warm nights as other travelers slept soundly in cots beside him.

As he crossed the bridge, and the refreshing wind hit his face, he recalled her smile. Had they come this way before? Not the same bridge, surely, but perhaps the same river. The same time of day, when the sun held steady directly above them.

* * *

She wanted to swim, he could tell. They had taken shelter from the heat under a rocky overhang at the canyon bottom, but the ground itself radiated warmth. Zelda pulled off her gloves and boots and dunked them in the river with a shout. Her cringe turned into a placid smile as the water tugged at her.

"It's heavenly, Link. You should try it!" She leaned back, and fell flat on her shoulders, sighing. Her arm shot upwards as a bug hovered past. "Look! A warm darner! Oh, I scared it off! They're such skittish insects, but there is a theory…"

Link sat close by, keeping an eye on the path leading in and out of their beach. They had been exploring that canyon for days in search of a shrine, but it was the first time she'd taken a moment to herself, and Link would not allow anything to disturb it.

Including that lizalfos. It stood on the opposite bank, above them. It was searching, but perhaps it couldn't tell them apart in the shade. Link slowly drew his bow and knocked an arrow. No bombs or fire- just a simple point would do. He took aim, holding both of his eyes open, exhaling a slow breath as the wind died- and release.

It stuck in its head, snapping its horn apart, and the monster reeled, and fell forward. It landed in the water with a loud splash, and Zelda screamed.

"What! What was that!" She scrambled away from the water, shoes in hand.

He waved his hand dismissively.

"It's…it's dead?"

He nodded.

Zelda sighed and sat down, drying her feet with a shake of her legs. "Well, I suppose that's a sign for us to get moving again."

He sighed as well, but agreed. He retrieved their water flask from where it had been cooling in the river, and they exchanged it eagerly.

"Were you travelling before you became a knight?" Zelda asked. "You know how to use the land so well."

He shrugged.

"Hmm?"

"A bit."

"Well, I've never seen anyone light a fire as fast as you do. Or knock an arrow so quietly. Whoever taught you how to hunt must have been good."

Link glanced back to the lizafos' viewpoint, then the still waters, flickering light on the ripples. "My father taught me the bow," he said. "And my mother the sword."

Zelda beamed. "Really! Your mother was a swordswoman! Amazing. My mother taught me how to knock an arrow and aim, but after she died, well…Father felt that I needed to focus solely on my prayers. Since I was the only one left with a connection to the Goddesses." She massaged her hands as she spoke. "I just hope…" She stilled, like the wind, and Link felt the world go so quiet, as if it could sense her despair. "Well, we should be off then." She stood, tapping the toes of her boots to the earth. "Thank you for sharing with me, Link. Now, let us move on."

* * *

He returned from his daydream when he stepped off the bridge, back onto the hard-packed, scorched earth. What was he doing there?

He nodded and looked down the path. A ways off, he could see a bit of green. The air felt cooler and cooler as he followed the shade. Then, around a corner, an iridescent pond. A Great Fairy- one with the power to return horses to life. He'd heard a rumor at the stable, and had decided on the detour. His pack was heavy with rupees- every Great Fairy he'd met demanded them.

And this one was no different.

She was a fierce, ephemeral being that threatened and taunted, and still returned his steed from its fate. The silver and white mare appeared before him, stumbling out of the Fairy's pond in surprise. Link caught her muzzle and the horse took deep breaths, steadying itself.

He thanked the Fairy again, and swung himself bareback on the horse. The mare didn't hesitate long, and they returned to the stable across the bridge.


End file.
